Walter Alison Phillips (21 October 1864 – 28 October 1950) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, a specialist in the

history of Europe The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500 to AD 1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first ea ...

in the 19th century. From 1914 to 1939 he was the first holder of the Lecky chair of History in

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. Most of his writing is in the name of W. Alison Phillips, and he was sometimes referred to as Alison Phillips. A former

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

and

special correspondent A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' newspaper, he was a prolific author, including contributions to the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'', of which for eight years he was chief assistant editor.

Early life

The son of John and Jane Phillips of

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, Phillips was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, which he left in 1882, then at

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he was an exhibitioner, and lastly from 1886 at St John's, where he was Senior Scholar. He graduated BA in 1885, with

first class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in History, and MA in 1889.E. P. Hart, ''Merchant Taylors' School Register, 1851-1920'' (1923)
p. 130
"Phillips, Walter Alison, b. 21 October 1864, s. of John and Jane, Epsom. Left 1882; Exhib. of Merton Coll., Oxf.; BA (1st Cl. Hist.) 1885; MA 1889; Sen. Schol. of St. John's 1886; Pres. Union Soc. 1887; Chief Asst. Editor of the ''Ency. Brit.'' (11th Ed.) 1903-11; Special Correspondent of the ''

Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time speci ...

'' in S. America 1912; on staff of the Times, 1913; Lecky Prof. of Modern Hist. T.C.D. since 1914... W. Alison Phillips, Trinity College, Dublin." In the

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...

term of 1886, he was

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

. On 7 June 1887, as a guest in the

Cambridge Union The Cambridge Union Society, also known as the Cambridge Union, is a debating and free speech society in Cambridge, England, and the largest society in the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1815, it is the oldest continuously running debati ...

, he supported the motion "That in the opinion of this House it is desirable to concede

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...

for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

", while Sir John Gorst, a former Solicitor General, came to speak against the motion.

Career

At first, Phillips concentrated his efforts on writing. His first book, published in 1896, was a translation of selected poems of Walther von der Vogelweide, followed the next year by ''The War of Greek Independence, 1821 to 1833''.''The War of Greek Independence, 1821 to 1833''
publication details
at books.google.com In 1901 appeared his ''Modern Europe, 1815–1899''.''Modern Europe, 1815-1899''
outline
at ks.google.com From 1903 to 1911, Phillips was Chief Assistant Editor of the projected 11th edition of the ''

'', serving under Hugh Chisholm, who was editor-in-chief. In 1912, he went to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

as a

Special Correspondent A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

of ''

'' newspaper, and then in 1913 was on the staff of ''The Times''. In 1914 he was appointed Lecky Professor of

Modern History The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is appli ...

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, the first holder of the new chair, in which he remained until his retirement in 1939. From 1939 until his death he was an honorary

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of his old Oxford college, Merton. G. K. Chesterton, ''Irish Impressions'' (2002 reprint), p. 138 Phillips was strongly opposed to

Irish Home Rule The Irish Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the ...

and once declared that "Ireland is not a nation, but two peoples separated by a deeper gulf than that dividing Ireland from Great Britain". His 1923 book ''The Revolution in Ireland 1906–1923'' was criticized for being too partisan of the Unionist point of view.Review in ''Journal of the British Institute of International Affairs'' vol. 2, no. 6 (Nov. 1923)
pp. 260–262
at jstor.org (subscription required) By 1922, Phillips was a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural ...

(MRIA). Outside his own specialism in European history, he contributed articles to the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' on musical and literary subjects, including the ''

Nibelungenlied The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germani ...

''.

Publications

* * * * * ** chapters by W. Alison Phillips
I: "The Congresses, 1815–22"VI: "Greece and the Balkan Peninsula"XVII: "Mehemet Ali"
* * Many articles for the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Eleventh Edition, signed by the initials "W. A. P."; some published separately on the outbreak of the First World War: ** ** * * n 3 volumes

References

External links

Works by W. Alison Phillips
at ebooksread.com * Walter Alison Phillips at

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— includes list of articles authored by him * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Walter Alison 1864 births 1950 deaths Academics of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Alumni of St John's College, Oxford English historians English male journalists Fellows of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Royal Irish Academy People educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood Presidents of the Oxford Union The Times people British war correspondents Encyclopædia Britannica Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire